Kinako Mochi Tirol (Premium) きなこもち チロル

Kinako Mochi seems to be a flavour that Tirol brings out every year or so. I guess in part because it's so popular. I reviewed this same flavour in 2010 but it was a smaller version that came in a pack.

This version is a premium Tirol which is slightly bigger (and costs a bit more) and the added bonus to this newer version is there is kinako powder inside the chocolate. Nothing else has really changed all that much, the wrapper colour is more orange this time around, but it has the same mochi character as last time, and only one big ball of kinako mochi instead of 3 small balls.

I guess Tirol know that you don't have to mess around with something when it's guranteed to be a winner no matter how many times you release it.

I am a kinako lover so I was looking forward to trying this one. As in the previous incarnation, the chocolate looks the colour of kinako, a kind of caramel colour. I can smell the kinako through the chocolate and it's so nice!!

Although I knew there was kinako powder inside, what I didn't expect was that when I bit into it kinako powder would explode out and fall down the front of my shirt. Yum though!! It has that lovely nutty flavour and also the sweetness of the chocolate. There is a piece of mochi inside although it's quite hard to bite through, there is powder surrounding the mochi and it just melts in the mouth. So buttery and nutty at the same time. There is so much powder, you really can't eat this in bites like I tried to do, because the powder gets everywhere!

This was so delicious, I just wish I had about 10 more!! I love how they added the powder, it gave it such a kick in flavour. I'm so glad that this was a premium too as you get that bit more than the usual size. I hope Tirol release this one again soon, can't wait!!

Did you try this? If so, what did you think?

Rilakkuma Picnic Tirol リラックマ ピクニックチロル

Tirol have teamed up with Rilakkuma, everyone's favourite lazy bear to bring out this pack of "Picnic Tirol". It has 9 pieces of individually wrapped Tirol featuring cute pictures on the wrapper. There are 3 pieces each of 3 flavours - Pudding, Caramel Cookie, and Choco Marshmallow.

On the front of the pack Rilakkuma is sitting holding a bunch of flowers and he has his friend Korilakkuma (so called as she resembles a smaller version of Rilakkuma). Rilakkuma and Korilakkuma also feature on the chocolate wrapper design along with their birdie friend Kiiroitori (Yellow bird).

I was pleasantly surprised to find this pack contains 3 new flavours, and I'm especially excited about the pudding flavour.

It's such a shame to open this pack, really. As the tear line is situated both sides of Rilakkuma's head, so it literally tears open across his forehead. If you're a big fan of Rilakkuma, you might down the side of the pack.

Pudding

This Tirol has two different kinds of wrappers, one with Rilakkuma holding a glass of lemonade, and the other with Kiiroitori holding a glass of lemonade. They're both very cute. The chocolate is a cross between a custard and caramel yellow colour. The chocolate smelled like coconut and caramel and was quite sweet. The chocolate breaks easily when bitten into and there is a soft jelly inside that tastes like caramel, even having a sauce left behind from the jelly that has a slight burnt sugar taste. The chocolate complements the burnt flavour by bringing back the sweetness and the flavours mixed together reminds me of a classic creme caramel pudding. I think they have done this well, although I'd prefer a little less burnt sugar in mine.

Caramel Cookie

The wrapper designs for this flavour are either Rilakkuma playing a guitar or Korilakkuma riding a scooter with Kiiroitori on the back. The chocolate is a toffee colour and smells like hard caramel. Biting into it, the chocolate is soft and sweet and the inside consists of biscuit pieces and caramel chocolate all melded together into a hard block. The caramel flavour isn't as strong as I expected on this, but it's really crunchy and I enjoyed it.

Choco Marshmallow

The design for these chocolates featured Korilakkuma holding a bunch of flowers on all 3 pieces. The chocolate is quite dark and smells like chocolate brownie. Biting into it there is a strong dark chocolate flavour, the bitterness is the first thing I taste, then there is the soft centre of marshmallow and dark chocolate sauce. Although I'm not a dark chocolate lover, I liked this one as the marshmallow centre was sweet and offset the bitterness to make it very enjoyable.

Overall, I probably liked the Choco Marshmallow the best, the Pudding second and the Caramel Cookie third. They all have their good points. I liked the jelly in the Pudding but not the burnt sugar flavour. I liked the crunch in Caramel Cookie but the flavour was too weak. I am not a fan of dark chocolate but the Choco Marshmallow somehow complemented that with sweetness of marshmallow.

I think this is a really sweet pack of Tirol and I'm sure it was probably popular in Japan because of the design and the interesting flavours. The fact that it has 9 pieces means it's great to share with friends.

Have you tried this? If so, what did you think? :)

[200th Post!] Calbee Choco Kappa Ebisen かっぱえびせんチョコ

Hi and welcome to my 200th post! I have made it. If you are a regular reader, thank you for reading my blog!

Well for my 200th post I have a snack to review made up of two things you normally don't think would go together. That is prawn crackers, and chocolate. You don't tend to see fishy flavours mixed with chocolate do you?

I was surprised this snack exists, and thank you to the friend who sent it over for me to try! I'm always willing to try new things, as weird as they may be.

So... Kappa Ebisen, aka a prawn flavoured snack, which I love, and chocolate, which I also love, melded together to become one. The packaging really stands out. It's bright red with a red prawn on a white circle on the front. It looks interesting.

This pack is small and holds 23 grams. It held about 22 crackers. I expected the inside of the bag to smell like prawn but I couldn't smell anything but chocolate.

 

Each cracker has a light coating of milk chocolate over it, just enough to cover it but without totally covering the shape, so that the grooves of the cracker still show through. The chocolate is glossy, and makes the cracker look somewhat plastic.

The cracker is crunchy and airy, and immediately after biting it I could taste the prawn flavour followed by a creamy chocolate taste. The prawn flavour is fleeting, there is a hit and then the chocolate takes over. If you eat more than one though, the prawn flavour tends to build up.

I actually don't mind the taste of these, even though it's a little odd at first. I'm a fan of salty and sweet together, and the prawn crackers have just enough salt to get this combination going.

My husband who is a big fan of Kappa Ebisen said he hates these... I guess for some, chocolate and seafood just don't go together, end of story.

If you like snacks out of the ordinary then you should definitely give these a go! They're a talking point if anything! :)

Boy's Day Tirol こいのぼり チロル

Turned on its side the pack resembles a carp windsock.

 I'm fashionably late once again. This pack of Tirol was brought out for Boy's Day in Japan, which is celebrated on the 5th of May every year. In Japan it's called Koinobori which literally means "carp streamer" otherwise known as a "wind sock". The pack design features such a carp streamer on the front.

Boy's Day is usually celebrated by putting up a pole and hanging windsocks from it such as in this picture, and depending on how many children are in the family, extra carp are added.

This pack of Tirol has 9 individually wrapped chocolates and 3 flavours, each set of 3 flavours has a unique design.

Bis is red with a picture of a bow and three arrows. It is a crumbly white biscuit coated with milk chocolate. I believe this is one of the original Tirol chocolates, and is probably very popular. The biscuit inside was so crumbly that it broke into very minute crumbs when I bit into it, and the chocolate coating on the outside fell off. It was kept at room temperature so I don't know why that happened. The chocolate just didn't stick well to the biscuit.

Bis

Bis

Milk has a red and pink design with the Japanese character for money in gold (Kin). Imprinted into the top of the chocolate is the word "choco" but I am not sure why. This is a white fudge covered in milk chocolate. The chocolate is smooth and sweet but has a slight bitterness at the end. The fudge is so creamy and sweet and it reminds me of condensed milk.

Milk

Milk

 White & Cookie is in a mustard colour wrapper with a black, red and yellow Kabuto (helmet) on the front. This is white chocolate filled to the brim with cookie pieces. I think this is meant to be like "milk & cookies", the white chocolate featuring as the milk and the cookies are dark like Oreos. The white chocolate had a flavour that reminded me of coconut, but I couldn't taste very much because there were so many biscuit pieces inside. The biscuit pieces were quite hard to eat as they are small and rough and afterwards I had a waxy texture left over in my mouth. I don't think the biscuit pieces were that good quality, so that may account for the waxy texture.

White & Cookie

White & Cookie

In all, this pack had a lot of potential but the execution of the chocolates let it down. Bis is quite plain but still nice, except for the crumbliness of the cookie. Milk was the standout here with it's creaminess and smooth chocolate, and unfortunately white cookie was my least favourite despite me thinking it would be my favourite. It could have been so much better and in this case, quantity (of biscuit pieces) does not win over quality.

Did you try this Tirol pack? If so what did you think about the flavours? :)

Maxim Pumpkin Latte マキシム パンプキン・ラテ

I was browsing on eBay and bought it on a whim. I didn't know what to expect, pumpkin + latte? Who would think of such a thing? In Australia, people think pumpkin and soup go together but not as a hot drink! In Japan it's a little bit different as the season's change and the Autumn flavours are rolled out, pumpkin being one of them.

On closer inspection on the box, it states this is "pumpkin pudding taste". I've never had pumpkin pudding, so I still don't know what to expect, however, I do love pumpkin, so I hope it's good.

The box has 4 individual sachets inside. The photo on the front is very appealing, although the real thing doesn't look like that. Sadly, on the back of the box I notice one of the ingredients is Aspartame, something I try very hard to avoid. :(

The other disappointing thing is that if you drink this beverage hot, you can only add 130ml of boiling water to the powder. If you have it iced, you can only add 65ml of cold water to the powder! Either way, that's a very small drink!! I know the portion sizes are small in Japan but this is ridiculous. I would need 2 sachets to make up a normal drink size here.

Anyway, down to the nitty gritty. The smell that wafts out of the cup reminds me of corn soup. It's yellow like corn soup too, it's not as orange as the one on the packet and definitely not as creamy. I can taste the pumpkin flavour but it is weak. You don't need to add sugar to this as there is a sweetness that is quite strong.

In all, it's a great fad product. But that's all really... I wouldn't go out of my way to buy it.

See the latest Maxim flavours here.

Calbee Korean Seaweed かっぱえびせん カルビー 韓国のり風味

As I posted previously, my son loves ebi senbei. Today he has been sick with a virus he caught from one of his friends and has been having high temperatures, which means he has been refusing all food.

I was at my wit's end when I realised that I had this bag of Calbee squirreled away in a parcel from a friend...I pulled them out and opened them and my son instantly perked up and began munching away! Saved! :)

The bag is quite pretty and the top and bottom of the bag is decorated in traditional Korean colours. I'm not really sure what difference there is between Korean nori (seaweed) and Japanese Nori, and when I asked my husband he said they just call it Korean nori in Japan...so he doesn't know either. Looking online I couldn't find mention of a particular type that comes from Korea, so I guess this is just seaweed originating from Korea flavour!

Inside, the pack really smelled strongly of seaweed, and each cracker had a rich taste of seaweed plus a small kick of what must be chili powder. These tasted quite salty too which made for a very moorish snack that I couldn't stop eating! I love how these snacks are so crunchy when you bite into them, it's the perfect savoury snack.

The other great thing about this pack is that unlike other savoury snacks where you get a small portion of snacks and the rest is air, the bag was full to the top of crackers. When my husband came home from work he had some too and gave them two thumbs up, so we three are all really happy with this snack from Calbee.